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RYOT talks about their journey with bridging the space between technology and a world of purpose.

“We saw that there was an opportunity to find a way to take news from being depressing, or cynical, or separatist, and actually using that emotion you get when you read a story that moves you, and instead of using that to just sort of turn off to the world, hoping that that can be an activation point, a moment of participation,” explained Bryn Mooser, who co-founded RYOT with fellow humanitarian David Darg. “Instead of just feeling depressed, we want to link every story to an action so that you can feel empowered, activated, participatory.”

At the top of each article is a red button titled “Take action” that enables a reader who feels compelled by a particular story to take some positive action in that moment. In some cases that means signing a petition, donating money, sharing the story on social networking feeds, or sending out a supportive tweet. The purpose of this set-up is to ensure that rather than feeling hopeless or depressed about the state of the world, readers actually feel empowered.

They also share how the new .NEWS domain helps highlight the purpose of sharing news online.
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